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Stories of the Scholars

Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal

الإِمَام أَحْمَد بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ رَحِمَهُ اللهُ

Founder of the Hanbali School, Writer Musnad Ahmad (d. 241 H)

Ahmad bin Hanbal is known as the ulama who most firmly defended the Ahlussunnah creed when facing the Mihnah's tough test - the pressure from the Abbasid rulers who forced the ulama to admit that the Koran was a creature (created). He was imprisoned and tortured for years but never wavered, making him a symbol of the steadfastness of his faith that is respected across sects. His work, Musnad Ahmad, contains more than 27,000 hadiths and is one of the largest hadith collections in Islamic history. The Hanbali school of thought, which is based on its teachings, is now widely embraced in the Arabian Peninsula.

1

Imam Ahlussunnah

Ahmad bin Hanbal Asy-Syaibani (164–241 H) was born in Baghdad, orphaned as a child, and took a long journey to seek hadith in the Hijaz, Yemen and Syria. He memorized hundreds of thousands of hadiths and became a hadith expert and imam of the fourth school of thought.

📖 QS Al-Fathir: 28

2

Al-Musnad: Ocean of Hadith

His masterpiece, Al-Musnad, collected more than twenty-seven thousand hadiths which he distilled from hundreds of thousands, arranged by the names of his companions. This book is one of the greatest hadith references for the people.

📖 QS Al-Hijr: 9

3

Khalqul Qur'an Slander Test

When the authorities enforced the idea that the Koran was a creature, Ahmad firmly refused despite being imprisoned and beaten for years. His steadfastness saved the faith of the people, so that he was called "Imam Ahlussunnah wal Jama'ah".

📖 QS Asy-Syura: 11 · QS Ibrahim: 27

4

Perfect Zuhud

Ahmad refused gifts and gifts from the authorities, lived a poor life full of qana'ah, and was very wara'. When things were safe and the authorities glorified him, he turned away from the world and fame.

📖 QS Al-Qashash: 83

5

Teacher of the People and their Morals

Despite his high position, Ahmad was very humble, gentle with his students, and quick to forgive people who wronged him during times of slander. He said, "I have justified (forgiven) everyone except the heretics."

📖 QS Ali 'Imran: 134

6

Death and the Hanbali School

Ahmad died in Baghdad in 241 AH; hundreds of thousands of people turn it on. The Hanbali school of thought now holds sway in the Arabian Peninsula and is one of the pillars of Ahlussunnah jurisprudence.

📖 QS An-Nur: 37